


war does this to men

by gravitality



Series: i love dimitri [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fluff, Gay, Hugs, M/M, Mentions of War, Pre-Slash, Warm, claude edelgard & ingrid are mentions only, mentions of injuries (not detailed), no one was providing gay dimitri content so i took it upon myself, pre-release, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 09:51:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19809829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gravitality/pseuds/gravitality
Summary: Byleth worries. Dimitri doesn't really understand.This is pre-release.





	war does this to men

“Dimitri.”

Byleth’s voice was cold, per usual. Dimitri remained on the ground, looking up at his former teacher through his overgrown hair. He sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. Byleth stood over him, arms crossed lightly over his chest.

“Get up.”

They had recently been in a fight. Claude was nowhere to be seen (Byleth thanks whatever gods there are every day for this), and Edelgard had been gravely wounded by Byleth, much to his reluctance. It seemed neither side would be willing to falter, no matter how hard both he and Claude pressed them to.

“I’m fine here.” Dimitri’s voice had since turned rough, from years of shouting orders in the midst of battle.

“That wasn’t a suggestion.” Byleth’s arms tightened across his chest, and his glare turned icier. Their eyes locked for a moment longer, green meeting blue. Dimitri let out a sigh and hoisted himself off the ground, knowing this was an argument that didn’t need to be fought. Byleth sent him another level stare before turning on his heel and walking towards his tent. He stopped some yards away, waiting for Dimitri to follow.

Dimitri took his time. 

“You took a nasty hit out there,” Byleth commented after a long silence in his tent. Dimitri found himself sitting on Byleth’s cot as Byleth busied himself with the various weapons, clothes, loot, and other trinkets scattered around the floor. He considered it lucky that they didn’t have to get moving any time soon.

“I’ll be fine.”

“I know. I’m not underestimating your strength, I’m merely… concerned.” Byleth finally stopped, having found what he was apparently looking for, and stood in front of Dimitri. “Coat. Off.” Dimitri obliged. Byleth placed various medical supplies on the bed next to him and began removing parts of Dimitri’s armor.

Dimitri distinctly remembered this aspect of his teacher. They would spar a lot back at the academy, with Byleth almost always winning despite Dimitri’s weapon advantage. Whenever Dimitri took a large blow, Byleth would immediately stop the fight and bandage any injuries himself. _It’s not that I don’t trust the healers_ , Byleth would always murmur, _it’s just that I feel better doing it with my own hands._ He knew it was because Byleth felt horrible whenever he hurt a student.

“You didn’t hurt me.”

“I know, but Edelgard did.”

This made Dimitri blink. He was certain that Byleth wasn’t there when he and Edelgard had fought. No one was. “How did you know?” There was no answer. “How did you _know._ ” It wasn’t a question the second time. Byleth still remained quiet, focused seemingly solely on changing Dimitri’s bandages. Dimitri grabbed Byleth’s right wrist, forcing him to stop. “Tell me.”

Byleth stood quietly for a little longer before letting out a shaky breath. “I was concerned. I entrusted Ingrid to my fight, and searched for you.”

“So you saw our fight?” Dimitri’s hand didn’t leave Byleth’s wrist.

“I did.”

Silence fell over them. Dimitri reprimanded himself for not noticing his teacher’s presence, but quickly dismissed it - he was in the middle of an all out war, he was in a fight, he was distracted, he was almost killed. Byleth wasn’t an enemy, he didn’t need to notice him.

“That’s why you fought her, then,” Dimitri breathed, staring his teacher in the eyes, anger growing. Byleth broke it. His silence confirmed Dimitri’s suspicions. “I’m telling you, I’m old enough now, I have experience, I don’t need your-”

“ _I_ need this!” Byleth’s shout was firm and quick, surprising Dimitri enough to get him to close his mouth. Byleth had forgotten about the bandages, dropping them into Dimitri’s lap. “Dimitri, you… you’re still a child to me. Before I went to sleep you were - you were so young,” Byleth’s eyes closed, his hands balling into fists. “I just - I can’t get that out of my head. No matter how many times you tell me, or how many people I see you kill, I just can’t stop worrying about you. I just get scared that maybe - maybe I didn’t teach you well enough, and that I’ll end up finding you dead, and it’ll be my fault.” Byleth’s voice was dripping with fear, and it scared Dimitri. He could feel Byleth faintly trembling, but his teacher steeled himself quick enough.

Neither knew how to act next. Moments of silence passed, and Byleth whispered an apology for his outburst, releasing himself from Dimitri’s grip as he moved to pick up his dropped bandages. Dimitri let him. He stayed still and silent, obeying Byleth’s gentle instructions of “raise your arms,” “lift your head,” and so on and so forth.

Dimitri’s bandages were soon changed, with Byleth’s years of experience making it an easy process. Byleth stood away after piecing Dimitri’s armor back together. “You’re welcome to leave now.” The icy voice was back, the vulnerability sealed tightly behind his calm demeanor. Dimitri didn’t leave.

Instead, he stood, his coat forgotten on Byleth’s cot, and wrapped his teacher in a hug. “It won’t be your fault, if that happens.” Dimitri’s voice was as soft as he could make it, the ruggedness still seeping into his words. “You taught all of us well, but you couldn’t prepare us for war, and that’s not your fault. War is war, and no amount of academy training sessions can teach us enough about it. You did good back then.”

Byleth was caught off guard, but he eventually wrapped his own arms around Dimitri. The blond boy had grown so much in five years, both in height and maturity. And he was right, Byleth had to admit. Even the real fights against rogues and bandits and other villains would never be enough to replicate a war. He buried his head in the nook of Dimitri’s neck, relishing in the comfort the boy brought him.

He noticed Dimitri drawing him back towards the cot, and let him. They fell back onto it, Byleth resting on top of Dimitri’s chest. A few years ago this would’ve been nearly impossible. Byleth had to keep reminding himself that this wasn’t a few years ago, that this was now, and Dimitri was strong, reliable, and bigger than him.

“It’s alright,” Dimitri murmured, a hand relaxingly running through Byleth’s hair. Byleth had to stop himself from leaning into the touch, a satisfied sigh leaving his mouth, now a soft smile.

“We’ll be alright.”


End file.
